The Self-Sufficient Kitchen: Fermentation Class

This ongoing series of classes will introduce you to the basics of traditional food preparation. In a time when we can often mistake “food products” for real food, this series of classes will ground students in the processes, recipes and nutritional benefits of cooking from scratch. As Michael Pollan writes in his book In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto ”Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” The self-sufficient kitchen will revisit traditional cooking techniques and reinterpret them in the context of the contemporary urban foodshed. We will examine the city as an agricultural site. The class will take short walking trips to local urban farms, backyard gardens, and foraging spots to visit local growers and harvest ingredients for the dishes we prepare.

Each class will be taught by Nicole LoBue. Nicole has been working in the food industry in New York and San Francisco since 1990. She studied the culinary arts and whole foods nutrition at the Anne Marie Colbins School of Food and Healing and the French Culinary Institute in NY. With a deep passion for food inspired by her Sicilian heritage and world travels, Chef Nicole Lobue spreads the love of everything delicious to others. A dedicated student of herbal medicine; Nicole firmly follows the political and aesthetic culinary principles regarding the faithful use of ingredients that are healthful both for consumers and the environment.

This class will cover the basics of fermentation. From sauerkraut to lacto-fermented sodas, the class will demonstrate techniques for making fermented foods a healthful part of your home pantry. Other foods the class will introduce include Kombutcha, Pickles, and Kimchee.

All classes meet from 1:00-5:00 pm at the Studio for Urban Projects 3579 17th Street.